How a catering box ‘changed everything’

When I ran Tony’s Deli, for years we were using those “usual” black trays from Pactiv for presentation of our beautiful and glorious food.  But it was always a little disappointing to see the fruit of our labor - Panini sandwiches, cookies and other baked goods - displayed on those generic trays. They didn’t do the food justice.

They were expensive, too. Over the years, as the price of oil-based products continued to rise, we were paying upwards of $3.00 for each tray that we used. 

We tried, on several occasions, to implement a recycling program with our clients.  The idea was great, but in the end it was too hard to administer. We also tried using wicker baskets as tries, implementing a $5.00 deposit, refundable to the client upon return.  It was another administrative nightmare.

Finally, it dawned on me that corrugated cardboard might work.  But as I spoke to local packaging companies, I was struck by the lack of creativity in what was essentially a “stock” industry.
We went another route. We hired a local design company to design a box. The box would have to be rugged and sturdy, but could also handle products with moisture and was easy to store and transport. And there was a branding opportunity as well.

To my surprise, when the quotes came in the boxes would be 86 cents per unit; for a smaller sized unit, only 67 cents. By making this change, we could add $45,000.00 per year to the bottom line.  It was a no brainer. We went into production on the boxes with a run of 5,000 units of each size. The box was a unique shape, and it would be a unique branding opportunity. And, after all my work, I made sure that the box company’s dyes would be mine alone, and couldn’t be used by our competition.

The day the boxes arrived

In retrospect, the day the boxes arrived was one of the most exciting days at the deli.  We unloaded the truck, and there they were, 10,000 boxes piled in bundles of 50.  We filled the back of the deli from the floor to the ceiling.

Immediately, I was able to assign my retail clerks with another duty during down time in the store.  Fold boxes and get them ready for the following day’s catering orders.  Well, we folded and folded.  We held competitions for who could fold the quickest.  After the first 500 boxes were folded it was fantastic.  THE BRANDING OPPORTUNITY WAS HUGE!  We covered all the shelves in our kitchen (we had an open kitchen).  When you walked into the deli, you could not help but be struck by all these boxes in piles! All branded with our Logo!  Our retail customers commented time and time again on the display of our boxes.  “Oh, I didn’t know you delivered” they would say.  “Can I have a menu?” And of course, as much as we could we leveraged that request into getting their information down, and having our sales people follow up with them.

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(3) Comments • Permalink • 03 05 2010

• Erle Dardick, MonkeyMedia Software

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